I looked at them in the editor, they have one of the highest reputations at that level. If you holiday the first season they should be promoted to the 3rd tier for the second season. If you save the day before the leagues update you can reload and try again until they’re one of the promoted clubs.

Love the idea Badalona idea! I’ve played CM/FM since 00/01 and only ever gone from the bottom tier to the top in England (various clubs), Italy (with San Marino) and Scotland (Edinburgh City). From FM20 I want to try and have long term in other countries. Probably not playing hoofball again though, was more thinking of small clubs in capital or big cities, such as Badalona or Paris FC.
For a Madrid alternative there’s a club called Internacional Madrid who were recently promoted to the third tier. From what I remember their stadium has a capacity of only 300.